The great thing about Clicker Training is, you can add
it to your current training regime, it doesn’t cost a fortune,
and it can be carried around in your pocket! You can pick up a clicker
for around £3.00. It has been scientifically proven, it works and
above all its fun! It can be used for ground work, riding, loading, teaching
tricks, in fact the only limit is your imagination!
Clicker Training was originally started with large marine
mammals, (they generally use whistles, but the same principle applies).
It works on a ‘reward-reinforcement’ or ‘positive reinforcement’ system.
There are many ways to train a horse - the clicker works on ‘positive
reinforcement’.
To be brief the clicker is a small box with a metal strip
that “clicks” as you press it. This click works as a bridge
signal to the horse, saying “Yes. That Is want I wanted” The
click is followed by another reinforcer usually a few grains of food,
nuts etc. This system works differently to others because you are motivating
your horse to do the desired behaviour.
The best way to start is with an object, (target). This
can be anything you like, cone, ball, whip etc. By getting the horse
to bump his nose on the target, ie place it pretty close to him. You
are making it very easy for the horse to do the right thing. When he
bumps his nose you can then click and treat.
You can also introduce a word as a cue to the horse of
what you would like him to do. (ie say the word target, touch or your
own chosen word.) TIMING is the crucial factor here. It’s no good
clicking after the event, as you will be rewarding your horse for moving
away from the target. You need to click AS he is touching the target,
you then reward with your chosen treat. (Tip. Don’t make the reward
too big, just a couple of nuts is enough). You then proceed slowly moving
the target further away. This preliminary training session might only
take 10 minutes or even several short sessions before the “Light
Bulb moment as your horse clicks on to the idea.
A good session would be, you say the word ‘target’ with
the ball etc 10 feet away. Your horse then walks over touches the ‘target’ you
click and reward. Be prepared this could take a while. My horses play
this game together, I roll the ball several feet away, say the word ‘target’ they
then race over and touch the ball The first one there wins the treats!
This style of behaviour training is called shaping.(Or
step by step)
There are several rules of shaping to follow for really
good clicker session’s, here are a few to get you started:
When you want to improve on a behaviour, only work on
one part at a time.
When introducing a new element, loosen up the standards on the previous ones.
Ensure you work in small enough stages to help the horse to continue to succeed.
If the behaviour declines, simply return to the previous stage of learning.
In other words, keep it simple, keep it short and keep
it slow. Sometimes the slower you take things the faster you arrive!
This is a very, very short introduction to clicker training.
It is easy, but TIMING, CLARITY, CONSISTENTCY are essential if you are
to succeed.
For further information please contact the Alternative
Horse Society info@alternativehorsesociety.co.uk or visit www.clickertraining.com
or www.on-target-training.com
A couple of excellent books I can recommend on Clicker
Training are
You can Train Your Horse to do Anything! By Shawna & Vinton
Karrasch,
Clicker Training by Alexandra Kurland and
Don’t Shoot the Dog by Karen Prior
If there are any Clicker Trainers out there – we
need you on the site! Get in touch……
